Energy Cafe – The Unjust Transition at Grangemouth Oil Refinery: Workers’ Perspectives

Hosted by Dr Ewan Gibbs

Fossil fuel workers are central protagonists in achieving a ‘just transition’ to a greener and fairer economy, which is increasingly influential in policymaking and social science perspectives. This seminar paper examines workforce attitudes towards redundancy and restructuring following Petroineos’ announcement that the Grangemouth oil refinery in Central Scotland would close by 2025. It analyses interviews with workers recorded as they responded to the announcement. The findings demonstrate how the centrality of Grangemouth’s historic and contemporary role in Scotland’s energy economy was formative to views of the closure.  Commitment to Grangemouth shaped a commitment to place oppositional to capital and enforced labour mobility within the oil industry. These factors determined the dominant worker view of just transition as centred on retaining local employment. They prioritised making productive use of the skills and commitment of the Grangemouth workforce in the movement from fossil fuels towards renewables.

Registration will open soon

The Energy Café is an informal, open and inclusive space where people across University of St Andrews, from undergraduates to Professors Emeriti, can come together for an hour to share ideas about the energy research they are working on. It is intended to encourage collaborations, expand research horizons, and inspire new ideas and questions about issues of energy. This is a hybrid event and will be hosted online as well as in-person.

Hosted by the Centre for Energy Ethics, the Energy Café is not limited to one discipline, one department or one school – it is open to everyone.